Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from the fire. 3 3:27 Once the satraps, prefects, governors, and ministers of the king had gathered around, they saw that those men were physically 4 unharmed by the fire. 5 The hair of their heads was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged. Not even the smell of fire was to be found on them!
7:9 “While I was watching,
thrones were set up,
and the Ancient of Days 6 took his seat.
His attire was white like snow;
the hair of his head was like lamb’s 7 wool.
His throne was ablaze with fire
and its wheels were all aflame. 8
3:24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was startled and quickly got up. He said to his ministers, “Wasn’t it three men that we tied up and threw 19 into 20 the fire?” They replied to the king, “For sure, O king.” 3:25 He answered, “But I see four men, untied and walking around in the midst of the fire! No harm has come to them! And the appearance of the fourth is like that of a god!” 21
7:10 A river of fire was streaming forth
and proceeding from his presence.
Many thousands were ministering to him;
Many tens of thousands stood ready to serve him. 22
The court convened 23
and the books were opened.
1 tn Aram “in that hour.”
2 tn Aram “answered and said.”
3 tn Aram “from the midst of the fire.” For stylistic reasons the words “the midst of” have been left untranslated.
3 tn Aram “in their bodies.”
4 tn Aram “the fire did not have power.”
4 tn Or “the Ancient One” (NAB, NRSV, NLT), although the traditional expression has been retained in the present translation because it is familiar to many readers. Cf. TEV “One who had been living for ever”; CEV “the Eternal God.”
5 tn Traditionally the Aramaic word נְקֵא (nÿqe’) has been rendered “pure,” but here it more likely means “of a lamb.” Cf. the Syriac neqya’ (“a sheep, ewe”). On this word see further, M. Sokoloff, “’amar neqe’, ‘Lamb’s Wool’ (Dan 7:9),” JBL 95 (1976): 277-79.
6 tn Aram “a flaming fire.”
5 tc The ancient versions typically avoid the conditional element of v. 17.
6 tn The Aramaic expression used here is very difficult to interpret. The question concerns the meaning and syntax of אִיתַי (’itay, “is” or “exist”). There are several possibilities. (1) Some interpreters take this word closely with the participle later in the verse יָכִל (yakhil, “able”), understanding the two words to form a periphrastic construction (“if our God is…able”; cf. H. Bauer and P. Leander, Grammatik des Biblisch-Aramäischen, 365, §111b). But the separation of the two elements from one another is not an argument in favor of this understanding. (2) Other interpreters take the first part of v. 17 to mean “If it is so, then our God will deliver us” (cf. KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB). However, the normal sense of ’itay is existence; on this point see F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 45, §95. The present translation maintains the sense of existence for the verb (“If our God…exists”), even though the statement is admittedly difficult to understand in this light. The statement may be an implicit reference back to Nebuchadnezzar’s comment in v. 15, which denies the existence of a god capable of delivering from the king’s power.
6 tn This is sometimes taken as a comparative: “[some of the] strongest.”
7 sn There is a great deal of uncertainty with regard to the specific nature of these items of clothing.
8 tn Aram “into the midst of the furnace.” For stylistic reasons the words “the midst of” have been left untranslated.
8 tn Aram “into the midst of the furnace.” For stylistic reasons the words “the midst of” have been left untranslated.
9 sn The deuterocanonical writings known as The Prayer of Azariah and The Song of the Three present at this point a confession and petition for God’s forgiveness and a celebration of God’s grace for the three Jewish youths in the fiery furnace. Though not found in the Hebrew/Aramaic text of Daniel, these compositions do appear in the ancient Greek versions.
9 tn Aram “caused to go up.”
10 tn The Aramaic verb is active.
11 tn Aram “the flame of the fire” (so KJV, ASV, NASB); NRSV “the raging flames.”
10 tn Aram “we threw…bound.”
11 tn Aram “into the midst of.”
11 sn The phrase like that of a god is in Aramaic “like that of a son of the gods.” Many patristic writers understood this phrase in a christological sense (i.e., “the Son of God”). But it should be remembered that these are words spoken by a pagan who is seeking to explain things from his own polytheistic frame of reference; for him the phrase “like a son of the gods” is equivalent to “like a divine being.”
12 tn Aram “were standing before him.”
13 tn Aram “judgment sat.”
13 tn Aram “hand.” So also in v. 17.